


April's Fool

by AvengersNewB



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: April Fools' Day, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Post-Avengers (2012), Protective Steve Rogers, Social Media, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Twitter, Ty is a jerk, slightly though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23455525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvengersNewB/pseuds/AvengersNewB
Summary: Steve asks Tony out on April Fools' Day, not realizing what day it is. Tony gets upset and rejects him. Tony can't believe Steve would mock him like this. Steve can't believe Tony would reject him like that.There is a bit of a twist though, and Steve might need to take matters in his own hands.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 81
Kudos: 556





	April's Fool

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cptstarkrogers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cptstarkrogers/gifts).
  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [April's Fool by AvengersNewB](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24136807) by [granadawine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/granadawine/pseuds/granadawine)



> who was super nice and did not mind me writing this fic based on their tweet  
> "omg wait a stevetony fic where steve asks tony out on april fools day but he doesn’t realise what day it is so tony’s like “haha, yeah right” and rejects him. insecure!steve is hurt after that, and insecure!tony can’t understand why steve would mock him with something like that ... "
> 
> it's not exactly what you had in mind but I hope you enjoy it anyway <3
> 
> Thank you to BuckyAboveEverything and starksnack for beta so so much <3<3<3
> 
> Now translated into [ Chinese ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24136807) by granadawine <3 <3

Tony is sitting in the kitchen and minding his own business, well mostly because he is trying to listen to Nat and Bruce’s whispering too, when Steve walks in. 

Tony should have guessed, he later thinks, that this was all part of an elaborate plan, with the way Nat and Bruce disappear into thin air as soon as Steve opens the fridge to get a water bottle.

Tony doesn’t mean to stare at Steve’s ass, he absolutely does not, but he knows that intentions do not really count at least when it comes to Steve. He intends not to look, not to want so desperately, to tap and squeeze and it might have been much easier if Steve stopped wearing jeans that are too fucking tight. No victim blaming, he snaps at himself when he finally looks away, which is probably too late anyway as Cap has already turned and his ass is not in Tony’s line of sight anymore.

He walks toward the kitchen bench, where Tony is sitting and Tony’s heart starts doing the same flip flop thingy, as usual. 

“Um hello, Tony.” Steve says as he smiles with his whole face, the way Tony really loves and Tony wraps his fingers around his coffee mug just to make sure he doesn’t reach over and do something silly with them. 

“Hey Cap, top of the morning to you too.” 

Steve sits down on the other side of the counter and takes his time to open the bottle and drink plenty of water. He then looks up at Tony and-- wait, why is he blushing?

“So, um, you know … I was thinking, that, um …” Steve tries, opening and closing his mouth, the color spreading over his neck. “I wanted to … you know …” and he grabs the water bottle and takes a few more gulps, and the water apparently goes down the wrong way because he starts coughing all of a sudden. 

Tony jumps off his seat, runs to Steve and pats his back a few times until Steve starts to breathe normally again. “Calm down Cap, take a deep breath,” and he realizes that he is rubbing Steve’s back still, so he pulls his hands away, “it would have made the worst headlines if you actually choked on a few drops of water,” and they both laugh although it’s the worst joke Tony has come up with, ever.

Steve looks up at Tony and takes a deep breath, “Okay, here we go. I’ll spill before I accidentally choke on something else.” He takes another deep breath before he speaks again, and Tony can’t stop himself from inhaling sharply because God, how could a simple breath be so intoxicating. “Do you want to go out with me? You know like a date or something?”

The world freezes for a second. 

Tony can’t believe that he is finally hearing the words he’s been anticipating, for god knows how long, but today and like this. He rewinds them in his mind, hoping to have heard wrong, but there is no other way to interpret Steve’s words and he is not looking at Tony right now so Tony can’t really read his face. 

Tony takes a step back as Steve finally brings his eyes up from the water bottle and he is not even smiling which hurts even more for some reason. No fucking tears, Tony mutters to himself, not for something stupid like this and he squeezes his eyes shut, keeping them like that for a few seconds before he opens them to look back at Steve again.

“You know what Steve? Fuck you too.” And he walks a few steps backward out of the kitchen and runs for the elevator. 

***

What the hell just happened?

Steve can’t believe his own eyes, as he watches Tony running for the elevator. This makes no sense, the way Tony had not only rejected Steve but had also been so offended about it. Everyone seemed to believe that Tony would be interested if Steve asked, including Pepper who confirmed ‘it’s perfect timing’ and ‘Steve should definitely go for it sooner rather than later’ because Tony had apparently broken up with whomever he was going out with a couple of weeks ago. Steve had talked to Colonel Rhodes even, who nodded and smiled, well not really but Steve likes to think that he did, before stating that he will kill Steve if he hurts Tony in any way, shape or form. 

And it hasn’t been just them. It has taken him a lot of thinking, and a few of Bucky’s smacks to the back of his head, but he can finally see it now, all the time. The way Tony gets all flustered when Steve walks into a room, the way he looks up from all his important work and smiles at Steve whenever he pops into the workshop with something silly to ask or the way he checks Steve’s abs out when he thinks Steve is not looking, which has nothing to do with that fact that Steve has been buying shirts with shorter and shorter sleeves over the past few months.

Was Steve actually that bad when he asked Tony out? He did choke on his water and stumbled over his words a million times, but none of it was offensive enough to make Tony curse at Steve like that. 

Steve sighs and rests his chin on his palms. 

He really thought that he’d got this one. He was almost certain that Tony would say yes, he had even booked his favorite restaurant. He shakes his head and sighs one more time; he has no idea what he would do with the chunk of money he’s been saving in order to afford dining at ‘Craft Restaurant’ in the first place. 

***

Wandering around the workshop, Tony tries to busy himself with moving things that don’t need to be moved and tinkering with stuff that doesn’t need to be fixed. He is trying not to obsess about what just happened in the kitchen, and he is failing miserably because all he can think about is Steve’s eyes, Steve’s hair, and Steve’s perfect plump lips as he said the words, ‘go out with me, like a date or something’. 

Tony is a good sport. On a normal day, he has no problems with being mocked and made fun of. He’s been doing it since forever and it’s just the way the world works around him. Even the people who supposedly love him make fun of him all the time and it’s okay. Well not really, but Tony has learned to join in and laugh along because it definitely hurts less that way.

He might have been able to laugh along with Steve too if he was not this far gone for him. It’s just not that funny when all Tony wants to do all the time is wrap his arms around that ridiculously huge body and kiss those beautiful abs. Tony adores Steve’s awkward sense of humor and he did not mean to insult him for trying to be funny with April Fools' day joke, and he probably would have managed to at least say nothing if it was any other day of the year.

Not today though. Not on April fucking first, the day of Tony’s annual horror, when he locks himself out of all his social media apps, in hopes of not getting hurt yet again, which never works anyway. 

Tony takes a deep breath and takes his phone out of his pocket. No point in dragging this misery even further. Whatever Ty has in the bag for him this year, will not make Tony feel worse than he already does. 

***

Steve stares at his phone for a few minutes. 

He can call Bucky, but he is not in the mood for sarcasm. He can also call Nat, or go find her, but he just doesn’t want to talk about it whatsoever. 

He unlocks his phone and gets overwhelmed by the _notifications_ as usual. So many things he needs to check up on with not nearly enough time, and adding all these new social media applications that he ‘ _has to be on for team exposure’_ does not help with the flood of little blinking thingies he has to deal with every day. He sighs again and taps on a twitter notification randomly, which is apparently trending and disappears before Steve can read it properly but seems to have something to do with Tony. 

It’s not unusual for Tony to be trending on twitter anyway, and he never seems to mind, Steve thinks with a pang of sorrow in his heart. Tony is always smiling at the press and he always has a minute to take a selfie with the small kids that run to him with their parents’ phones. He goes down to their level and has all these weird jokes that kids seem to get at the first attempt and they always run back to their parents with a happy face, which mirrors Tony’s as he watches them go with a fond smile. 

Tony, whom Steve has been dying to kiss and touch for the past six months, and has blown his chance to do so for good, for a reason beyond his understanding. Steve doesn’t know what he will do from now on. He doesn’t even want to think about it.

He goes through all the trending tweets and wonders what the hell is suddenly wrong with the world as nothing seems to be making any sense. All the wars are finished and all the unions are back in action. A hospital seems to be offering free healthcare for the day and an economist Steve doesn’t recognize but has a blue tick so he must be an important one, has predicted that world hunger will come to an end. 

Steve’s eyes are getting too wide already when he comes across the important bit of information, finally. It’s April 1st, for God’s sake and looks like Steve has been the perfect April’s Fool, for getting all worked up about all the things that are supposed to be funny. He shakes his head because world peace is not funny as far as he is concerned but the world has changed so much and people seem to be okay with making fun of every single thing. Tony thinks it’s a good thing that nothing is sacred anymore, but Steve begs to differ. Somethings are not meant to be made fun of. Ever.

He finally finds the tweet that is trending about Tony and taps on it. His heart is beating fast, wondering if someone is saying that they have inherited all Tony’s money or someone has claimed to be his child. Hopefully, something that will bring a smile to Tony’s lips, Steve wishes, and the idea that he can’t put a smile on those perfect lips right now, despite having planned to for so long, makes his heart clench painfully.

It’s not something funny though. It’s not even worth a smile, as far as Steve can tell. He reads through it so many times just to make sure that he is reading it correctly. His hands are now shaking as he taps through to read the replies, and he regrets finding a link to all of the previous similar tweets the same guy, Tiberius Stone, has posted over the past five years. Mostly for the sake of the fucking bastard himself, Steve thinks, as he browses all the tweets and the media coverage and a special edition of Entertainment Tonight a couple of years ago. 

No. 

Not cool.

Some things are not supposed to be made fun of and Tony’s heart is absolutely among those things, no matter what Tony himself may or may not think. The reason Tony has tolerated this stupid shit for five years, well six including today, is beyond Steve but there is no chance in hell that Steve will tolerate it too. 

He looks at the guy’s profile again, still in shock that he is an SI employee, to double-check that he works in this building before he storms out of the kitchen and starts pressing the elevator button frantically. He contemplates grabbing his shield, but he has promised Bucky, Nat, and Fury not to use it ever again against civilians. He wonders if he should get the shield anyway, but the elevator doors open and he jumps in, certain that he can break the bastard's neck with his bare hands only.

***

Ty has not magically decided to let the thing go this year. Tony has never been that lucky, and there is no reason for Ty to be any exception to that rule anyway. 

No embarrassing stupid photos, which is a small win on its own. The Legal Department might have finally found a way to stop him from sharing photos, thank God, because the last thing Tony needs right now is another ‘never seen before’ photo of him going viral with an embarrassing Halloween costume or his 90’s blond tips, that he has never managed to delete all the evidence of.

_“Remember when I asked my boss/boyfriend to marry me on April Fools' day and he said yes? Good old times really, I truly miss being around the biggest fool in the world._

_Happy April Fools' day, @iamironman it was lovely when it lasted.”_

Whatever. 

He has done way worse over the years. 

And that is exactly what happened, captured on video and all, so Tony has no grounds to sue the hell out of the bastard for defamation. Legal has updated their NDA to cover April Fools' jokes specifically but the previous version is ineffective in this particular instance for some reason Tony can’t understand, despite spending millions on it. They can’t really fire Ty without ending up in a horrible lawsuit which serves Tony right for hiring someone he was sleeping with and going after him for any other reason is just not worth it.

Tony rolls his eyes at the ‘just not worth it’ bit, as he has heard it from Pepper and Legal so many times. It does make sense, true, but it still hurts that doing something, anything to stop this shit show, is just not worth it. 

It hurts, so fucking much, to be honest, to be so wrong about someone. To love someone for so long, give them all you have, trust them with your life and hand them your heart for them to shatter it into pieces, publicly. Not once, not twice, not even three times. A recurring nightmare that will be hunting Tony for the rest of his life, or the foreseeable future at least, something that will be dug out by the E! Magazine and New York Post every single year and end up on random TV shows for weeks and months. 

And it’s not like Tony has learned anything from the past because he seems to be falling for the worst people all the time, he tells himself as he locks his phone and throws it on the table. Look at Steve Rogers, the one and only Captain America, for example asking Tony out on April Fools' day, the national Tony Stark Humiliation Day just because it must be hilarious. Tony grimaces as he stabs the metal scrap on the workbench with a screwdriver a few times. The fact that Tony is the biggest fool of all times is probably what hurts the most. He has been a fool in the past, trusting a jerk like Ty for so long and he is a fool right now, thinking about how he can apologize to Cap for being rude. He will be the biggest fool of all time in the future too, for sure, in even more stupid and embarrassing situations. 

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Tony’s heart is heavy and his throat is tightening when he hears someone screaming at the door of the workshop. Tony wipes his eyes, with the back of his hand, and turns to the door, thinking it must be Clint, or Bucky, being stupid and trying to cheer him up.

It’s not Clint. Or Bucky.

The person screaming from the top of his lungs is Ty Stone. He seems to have been punched in the eye from what Tony can see from the distance and is sporting a busted lip too. Violence is not the answer and Tony never advocates it, but seeing Ty miserable like that makes him more satisfied than he’s been in the past few years or ever maybe.

As Ty starts walking toward Tony, still shaking and wallowing, someone else's figure comes into sight. A familiar set of pecs that are almost ripping through the stretched T-shirt shows up from behind Ty and a disapproving face with the most adorable clenched jaw nods to Tony before shoving Ty in Tony’s direction. As they finally get to the workbench Tony can see what seems to be going on, but he can’t quite process any of it. Steve has Ty’s arm twisted at his back, and Tony _knows_ from personal experience that the term ‘steel grip’ is made up to describe Steve’s tight holds. Steve pushes Ty forward a couple more steps until Ty stumbles onto the workbench and lets out a sharp cry, which sounds like Christmas carols to Tony.

“Okay, what do you have to say here?” Steve’s tone is flat and his face is impartial. He might even sound calm to an unsuspecting bystander. Tony knows far better though, that under that calm and collected pose, Steve is burning with anger right now.

Ty looks at Tony, and how pleasant it feels to see the pleading in his eyes, before he looks back at Steve. Steve glares at him so he turns back to Tony and clears his throat, “I am so sorry, Tony-- ouch,ouch-- Mr. Stark.” and he lets out a shaky breath before turning back to Steve. 

Steve nudges Ty roughly and Tony’s heart flutters in his chest. He should not enjoy this scene. This is sick and crazy but Tony can’t bring himself to care really. Steve then looks at Tony and the way his face goes from Captain America to Stevie the Teddy Bear melts Tony’s heart a little. 

“Why is that exactly?” Steve says as he looks back at Ty, his face hard and cold again.

Ty doesn’t hesitate this time, “For being a fucking jerk,” and cries out again as Steve twists his arm a bit more, “and bothering you with my sick jokes over the years-- ouch, ouch, easy buddy, easy-- and for existing.” His face twitches in pain, making a knot untie in Tony’s chest, “There, there, I said it! Now let me go for fuck’s --” and he screams again as Steve grabs his other arm and pulls him back to his feet. 

“I would have kept you here like this for a few hours at least, because I am really enjoying the sight. But it’s up to Mr. Stark here, really, if he prefers to keep looking at your pathetic features or prefers never to set eyes on you again.” and he glares at Ty, jaw clenching and all, before he looks back at Tony and smiles deeply, and the corner of his eyes crinkle. 

Tony looks at him and can’t keep from smiling. He is still not sure about what he has just witnessed but that doesn't really matter. What matters is the absence of the smug smile on Ty’s face which Tony has wanted to punch off so many times over the past few years, and the way Steve makes Tony feel, like someone actually cares about him for once. 

“You can take the rest of the day off, Ty,” Tony says after a few minutes, jerking his head toward the workshop door. 

Steve nods to Tony, and it might be Tony’s imagination but there is no hint of disapproval in his eyes. He then tightens his hold on Ty, to pull him close so they are face to face, scowling at him some more before he loosens his hold and lets Ty go. Ty takes a few steps back, unsure of what he has to do now and his slouched shoulders and hesitant steps make Tony want to kiss Steve’s hands.

“Mr. Stark said that you can take the rest of the day off, did you hear him?” Steve asks in his battlefield tone and Ty nods shakily. “He is too good for you, you know? I would have killed you with my bare hands if I were him. I still might, so don’t forget what you promised me in the elevator.” 

Ty looks at Tony then at Steve and starts toward the door. He takes a few slow steps then runs and bumps into the closed glass doors, a couple of times, before Tony asks JARVIS to open the door for him. He stumbles out of the door and runs toward the fire escape exits.

***

Steve shuffles on his feet and pushes his hands into his pockets. He is suddenly aware of his presence in Tony’s workshop after being told to fuck himself and he is not quite sure what he has to say or do right now. He has completed his mission to kick someone’s ass and he feels like he has to hide in his room and write a mission report or something. He opens and closes his mouth to talk but Tony is looking at him, soft and sweet and Steve doesn’t know how much more he can contain himself not to lean forward and kiss that beautiful face. 

He tries to come up with the right words a couple more times, but nothing seems to form in his brain. He smiles at Tony, takes a deep breath and turns on his heels to leave.

“Cap? Hey, I guess... I’m sorry I told you to go fuck yourself.”

Steve freezes in place for a second before he turns back to Tony.

“I am sorry, it’s just that I hate April Fools' day and the whole fucking joke, and I didn't know that you didn't know. I promise I’m usually a super fun person, just … not today. Okay?” He runs his hand down his face and eyes turn sad all of a sudden.

“Of course I did not know about this fucking jerk. Who does that? Who makes a joke about wanting to be with someone for the rest of their lives?” Steve balls his hands into fists without meaning to. He is burning with anger all over again and wonders if he can spare Ty another punch if he runs really fast.

Tony smiles, pained and bitter and something wrenches at Steve’s heart. 

Tony deserves so much more than fucking shits like that guy, and all Steve wants to do for the rest of his life is to show Tony just that. Maybe he can ask him again? Not now, God no, but maybe tomorrow? Or the week after or next month. Steve can wait for Tony, now that he knows Tony was upset for some other reason. He’s been waiting for seventy years to find Tony; not too hard to wait a few months on top of that. 

“Look, Tony, I am really sorry. I should not have asked you today but honestly, I had no idea. I asked everyone about this plan and no one gave me a single hint about the stupid April Fools' day. If I'd known this had been going on for so long, I would've killed the bastard before he got the chance to hurt you one more time.” 

Something changes in the air and the rigid lines in Tony’s face start to untangle a little. Steve can’t tell what it is exactly but Tony’s smile is not wistful anymore. 

Tony tilts his head to the side and looks at Steve with narrow eyes for a second. “Wait, how do you mean you did not know about April Fools' Day? Didn’t you just ask me out back in the kitchen?”

Steve tilts his head and narrows his eyes, mirroring Tony, “ Yes? What does that have to do with this?”

Tony cocks his head and his eyes pop out. “I don’t know Cap, I am not exactly sure. Why did you ask me out then?”

Steve cocks his head too and he can’t say for sure but his eyes are probably wide with shock as well. “Because I want to go out with you? I am not really following Tony, why else would I ask you out?” 

Tony’s eyes get even wider. “Holy shit, Steve, you actually want to go out with me? I thought it was an April Fools' joke!”

Steve shakes his head and his hands clench into fists again. “What?! No! Hell no! I would never do something like that.” 

Tony shakes his head too and his smile widens. Steve watches him as he walks around the workbench and his heart suddenly starts to beat faster. He stops a couple of steps from Steve and doesn’t say anything for a few long minutes.

Tony then takes another step, so he is close but not enough. It’s always like that, Steve thinks as he takes the last step. So close but not enough.

***

Tony has never been this close to Steve. He can see the smallest bit of green in his blue eyes, and nothing makes him more perfect than this little flaw right now. 

“So, you do want to go out with me?” Tony whispers, as his fingers trail across Steve’s lips and down his chin.

“I do, I really really do,” Steve whispers back, closing his eyes, revelling in Tony’s touch.

“No jokes?” Tony asks as he curls his hand around Steve’s neck, fingers tangling in his hair. 

Steve opens his eyes and wraps his hands around Tony’s waist to pull him in. He tilts his head finally closing the inch of distance between them, smiling against Tony’s lips. “No jokes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!  
> I'm [avengersNewB](https://avengersnewb.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr, come talk to me :)


End file.
